Indexicals

Reading: Chaphter 11 of Lycan

Questions:

1. What is the difference between semantics and pragmatics?

2. Do sentences have meanings outside of context? If they dont, what does that mean for the semantics/pragmatics distinction?

3. What is the near side/ far side pragmatics distinction?

4. I ask you 'when did you stop hitting your wife?'. What does my question presuppose?

5. Are presuppositions part of the semantic or pragmatic content of a sentence?

6. Why are indexicals essential to language?

7. What is an 'index' in the sense on pg 140?

8. What would the suggestion on pg 140 have as the truth conditions of
'are you here now'?

9. On pg 141 another set of truth conditions for 'are you here now' is suggested. What are they? How can we accomodate them?

Propositions and Possible Words

Reading: Chapter 10


1. What is Davidsons programme? (see last week)

2. What problems does it face (see last week)

3. What is a possible world?

4. How might we give the meaning of a proposition in terms of possible words?

5. What then would the meaning of a name be?

6. What advantage does this have over Davidson?

7. What are the problems with this view? Can it overcome them?